vendredi 5 mai 2017

Octopuses and their cephalopod cousins can edit and recode their own genes

Octopi have earned their reputations as clever aquatic escape artists. But in addition to being underwater Houdinis, these creatures (and other coleid cephalopods including cuttlefish and squid) were recently discovered to have another mind-blowing trick: they can rewire their own genetic material to quickly adapt to their environment. Image via Wikimedia Commons There are several potential advantages to making changes within RNA. First of all, the changes are transient. Thus an organism can...